and, Rashed, please stream the last 2 ODI on USTREAm for us
Much thanks.

__________________> Start slow. Build a base. Then explode.
> I needed to perform so that I could give my countrymen an occasion to cherish and be proud of - Ice Man> My photographs @ flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/obayedh/

Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan has termed as "unacceptable" the host's four-wicket, series-leading victory over Zimbabwe. From 175 for 2 chasing 197 - boosted by timely half-centuries by Tamim Iqbal and Mohammad Ashraful - Bangladesh lost four wickets in 49 balls before eventually winning in the 41st over.
"I did not want to come out in the middle to bat after the way Tamim Iqbal and Mohammad Ashraful had dictated terms, but unfortunately none could finish the job which was really frustrating," said Shakib.
Tamim, who before the game had vowed to answer his captain's call for a more responsible top-order effort, was on 80 when he danced out and missed the ball. Ashraful, who finally found form with 63, fell to a terrible shot outside the off stump. Those two wickets were followed by a middle-order wobble - Raqibul Hasan pulled a short ball out to a fielder in the deep - which left Shakib to come out and settle nerves, but he was clearly peeved at having to do so.
"In such a situation, one can expect to lose three or four wickets. But I should say six wickets is too much for comfort and this is unacceptable," he said. "Either Tamim or Ashraful should have stayed there till the end. We all should know how to finish things off when we got such a small target. I also don't understand why Rokibul played that pull shot at that time. These are very negative signs."
Tamim, named Man of the Match, felt the reverberations. "I'm really very disappointed that I could not satisfy my captain and there is a reason for him to be disappointed," he said. "I knew I had to prolong my innings when I got the start. I want to be a world-class batsman and for that I have to master the craft."

__________________> Start slow. Build a base. Then explode.
> I needed to perform so that I could give my countrymen an occasion to cherish and be proud of - Ice Man> My photographs @ flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/obayedh/

Good thing I did not open a thread on this. I was about to actually. But this is very interesting and a very good thing coming from a performing captain! I very much like this!

It is well backed up, and these kind of words have been coming from us fans since ages and it always seemed like the players had no brains! Good to see a performing captain talking about these issues. All players should be accountable for what they are doing, and a decent word from Tamim as well. Shows that he actually cares.

Lets hope that every one of our players can play their role. Guys like Junaed, Ashraful and Naeem are coming under scrutiny nowadays. Others like Rock will come under the microscope once we play faster paced games. Lets hope they can all play their respective roles.

Let's hope we can carry on our momentum into this match. Our batsman should be looking to lift their game, especially our middle order. After losing 4 quick wickets after we were 2/175 isn't a very good sign, especially if we were set to chase down a total of 220+.

We should be looking to wrap up the series here, Inshallah. Best of luck to the team!

Originally Posted by Foozy
Lets hope that every one of our players can play their role. Guys like Junaed, Ashraful and Naeem are coming under scrutiny nowadays. Others like Rock will come under the microscope once we play faster paced games. Lets hope they can all play their respective roles.

Best of luck BD!

naeem wasn't one of the batsmen that got out; and didn't even bat in the last game so lets not complain about him

Originally Posted by fais
naeem wasn't one of the batsmen that got out; and didn't even bat in the last game so lets not complain about him

Hi fais,

I guess you have been away for a while. Half the BCites have been complaining about Naeem for a while now. Word is that he is neither a batsman nor a bowler. Others say that he is not being used properly. Some say that he doesn't even exist!

Fact of the matter is that I was not only talking about this particular match but what has been happening in the near past. Hope I was able to explain my words.

I guess you have been away for a while. Half the BCites have been complaining about Naeem for a while now. Word is that he is neither a batsman nor a bowler. Others say that he is not being used properly. Some say that he doesn't even exist!

Fact of the matter is that I was not only talking about this particular match but what has been happening in the near past. Hope I was able to explain my words.

sry to have picked on ur comment; the comment was meant for everyone complaining about naeem in general

he has played 22 ODIs
Not out in 8 ODIs (with most scores at 4)
and DNB in 5 other matches

in other words in more than half of his matches he did not get a chance to demonstrate his capabilities and in the rest he is played so low down that either it is near the end where he has to take unnecessary risks to up the scorecard or the bating line-up has completely collapsed and so the supporting batsman is the 10th or 11th man - neither case is appropriate for a batsman to show his skills

what naeem needs is a chance to play at number four (instead of rakib) or at least 5/6 (instead of mahmudullah)

About naeem, I did not know about his flamboyant U19 and academy career, he is a batsman who averaged over 40 in his U19 career. Why dont we use him higher up in the order? =\
So we actually have 8 proper batsmen in the team. wow, not even India has that

Originally Posted by fais
sry to have picked on ur comment; the comment was meant for everyone complaining about naeem in general

he has played 22 ODIs
Not out in 8 ODIs (with most scores at 4)
and DNB in 5 other matches

in other words in more than half of his matches he did not get a chance to demonstrate his capabilities and in the rest he is played so low down that either it is near the end where he has to take unnecessary risks to up the scorecard or the bating line-up has completely collapsed and so the supporting batsman is the 10th or 11th man - neither case is appropriate for a batsman to show his skills

what naeem needs is a chance to play at number four (instead of rakib) or at least 5/6 (instead of mahmudullah)

I was thinking along similar lines the other day when I suggested that Naeem needs to be put at no.3 instead of Ash until Ash figures out his current form or rather the lack of.

Any one who has been watching Ash over the years must have noticed a sudden change in Ash. He was the player that could ALWAYS connect rite from the word go! His problem always used to be stupid strokes. More recently though, he has not been connecting bat to ball. He is swatting for flies outside his off stump. A real sad sight for me at least.

I think he needs a break because the international stage is not the place for a player to find form back (Even though our local matches are utter cr*p half the time; Good to know that it is getting more competitive of late though). If he is not given a break he could also be batting in place of Naeem for a while. That could work in both ways.

Lets see what decision our team takes though. It will be interesting how they solve this puzzle 'coz clearly Riyad and Naeem both do not fit in that line-up.

JS : All his dismissals have been tame.
TI & Ash : Inability to see the innings through. At least TI is accepting the responsibility publicly
Neith TI or JS have a SINGLE not out to their name
Mushy's Keeping
Lack of Pace attack

How will be the new pitch? We are taking too much risk playing one pacer but the problem is who we have as decent pacer that will atleast give good 6 overs as Mash and Rasel both are out. There are some bad signs in top and middle order but good signs are we are no longer depending on only one player to save our batting. But last two games need to be played very well to back up our captain's prediction of winning the series.

Same squad as expected. I will tinker with the line-up though. Its time to send a message to Zunaid. I would play him, but hand the opening job to someone else, maybe to Rahim ( to redeem himself ) or Naeem ( to see what he has to give with the bat ). 3,4,5 -unchanged. Zunaid will get demoted in the line -up and come at no.6 to close out if needed. Hopefully, we won't need him to bat. He will field, and field all day, instead of getting a break from the game and relax with his legs up on a chair. Worse than his lack of production is the manner he has been getting out. For someone who gets out more often than anybody in the line-up after getting set is simply unacceptable. Very important for him to realize this.